Automatic locking and releasing device for mining-cars.



J. H. STROOPE. AUTOMATIC LOOKING AND EELEASING DEVICE FOR MINING (JARS.v

APPLIOATIOH FILED MAY 25, 1908. PatentedvJu-ne 15' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2..

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JOSEPH H. STROOPE, OF STRAWN, TEXAS.

AUTOMATIC LOCKING AND BELEASIN G DEVICE FOR MINING-CARS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J osnrrr H. S'rnoorn, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at St-rawn, in the county of Palo Pinto, State ofTexas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in AutomaticLocking and Releasing Devices for Mining-Cars; and

I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invcntion, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to automatic looking and releasing devices formining cars and particularly adapted for use with hoisting cages toautomatically release and look a mining car upon the hoisting cagewhereby said car may be released at the top and bottom of the shaft.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of an automaticlocking and releasing device for use with mining cages for elevatingmining cars and consists in mech anism for holding the said car in alocked position upon the platform of the mining cage when the latter istraveling in the shaft and said mechanism is adapted to automaticallyrelease the car when the cage reaches the lower extremity of the shaftin the mine.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification isillustrated one form of embodiment of the invention which, to enablethose skilled in the art to practice the said invention will be setforth at length in the following description while the novelty of theinvention will be included in the claims succeeding said description.

In the drawingsFigure 1 is'an end elevation of a hoisting cage partly insection resting at the top of the mining shaft, a car thereon and theinvention applied to said cage. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of thehoisting cage partly in section with the car removed and resting at thebottom of the mine shaft and with the automatic locking mechanism in itsrelease position. Fig. 3 is atop plan view of the hoisting cage, partlybroken away and in section. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view thereof.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views in the drawings.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 25, 1908.

Patented June 15, 1909.

Serial No. 43,826.

In the drawings the numeral designates a mine shaft of the usualconstruction and which forms no part of the invention. Therefore, it ismerely shown for the sake of convenience and includes oppositelydisposed and vertically arranged guide rails 11 upon which travels ahoisting cage 12 including a main platform 13 superposed upon andsupported by standards 14 upon a bottom cross beam 15, the opposite endsof which engage and slide upon the guide rails 11. Above the mainplatform 13 a suitable dis tance, is a top cross beam 16 having itsopposite ends in engagement with said guide rails 11 and which top crossbeam 16 has connection with the said bottom cross beam through themedium of tie rods 17 to form a rigid unitary cage structure. Upon theupper face of the platform 13 are secured brackets 18 arranged in spacedrelation and in proximity to opposite side edges of the said platformand each having inwardly directed right-angular extensions 19 to whichare secured guide bars 20 and 21 forming keepers for engagement with thewheels 22 of a mining car 23 when positioned upon the main platform ofthe hoisting cage. Upon the underface of the main platform 13 andsecured thereto are plates 24 having right angularly disposed ears 25forming bearings for a pivot 26 of a rock shaft 27 the latter havingopposite bifurcated ends 28 in which are connected by pivots 29 lookingdogs or members 30 and 31, respectively, which slide through openings 32contained in the platform 13 directly above the bifurcated ends 28 ofthe rocking shaft. The locking member 31 is of a greater length than thelocking member 30 and is provided with an enlarged head 33 formin'g'anoffset 34 to permit the passing of the wheels 22 of the mining car whenthe locking member 31 has been elevated while the locking member 30 hasbeen lowered into the opening 32. To permit upward movement of thelocking member 31 when elevated there is provided in the guide bar 21 aslot 35 through which the locking member 31 is adapted to pass.

On the guide bar 21 are bearings 36 receiving a crank shaft 37 andconnected to its U-shaped crank 38 is a chain 39 which also hasconnection with the locking member 31 whereby the rock shaft 27 may beactuated to bring the locking members 30 and 31 respectively into areleased position by an operator manipulating a manually operable crank40 carried by said crank shaft. This crank 40 is adapted to bemanipulated upon arrival of the hoisting cage 12 at the top of the shaft10 so as to release the looking members 30 and 31 whereby the car wheels22 are freed so that the mining car 23 can be moved off of the platform13 of the hoisting cage. The enlarged head 33 of the locking member 31due to its weight automatically brings said locking member 31 andlocking member 30 into position for locking the mining car 23 upon theplatform 13 of the hoisting cage 12 by rocking the shaft 27 so that themembers 30 and 31 respectively will intersect the space between thewheels 23 of the mining car.

To the rocking shaft 27 at one end thereof is secured a forked member 41having trip arms 42 which latter upon the descent of the hoisting cage12 are adapted to contact with trip devices comprising plates 43 hingedplates 44 mounted upon depending extensions 45 secured to a shifting bar46 slidably mounted in the shaft 10 near the bottom end thereof. Theplates 43 are normally held at right angles to the extensions 45 bysteps 47 so as to act upon the trip arms 42 when the cage reaches itslimit of descent to release the car. Said plates due to their hingedconnection are adapted to override the trip arms 42 upon the ascendingof the hoisting cage 12 in event the said plates 43 are accidentallybrought into the path of movement of said trip arms 42.

To the opposite extremities of the shifting bar 46 pivoted as at 48 arehand operable levers 49 having their lower ends pivoted as at 50 to thebottom of the shaft 10. The levers 49 are for the purpose of actuatingthe shifting bar 46 so as to disengage the hinged plates 40 from thetrip arms 42 after the hoisting cage 12 has reached the bottom of theshaft 10 and the mining car 23 having been released by the lockingmembers 30 and 31 respectively so that the latter members areautomatically brought to a locked position after the arrival of anothermining car upon the platform 18 which car is to be elevated by thehoisting cage 12 to the top of the shaft.

At opposite sides of the standards 14 are angle brace members 51 tosupport the platform in a rigid manner and in substantially horizontalposition above the top cross beam 16 of the hoisting cage.

What is claimed is 1. The combination with a hoisting cage and itsplatform, of a rock shaft mounted upon the under face of the platform ofsaid cage, locking members pivotally connected to said rocking shaft forlooking a mining car upon the platform, manual y operable means mountedupon the platform of the cage to permit the release of the lockingmembers when the cage reaches its limit of ascent, trip mechanismoperative upon the rocking shaft to automatically release the lockingmembers upon the descent of the cage, and manually shiftable means formoving the trip mechanism into and out of the path of movement of therocking arm.

2. In combination with a hoisting cage and its platform, of a rockingshaft pivoted centrally to the under face of the platform of the cage,locking members pivotally connected at opposite extremities of therocking shafts and adapted to be automatically brought into operativeposition for locking a car on the platform of a cage, trip arms fixed tothe rocking shaft, trip devices arranged normally in the path ofmovement of the trip arms and adapted to automatically override the triparms upon the ascending of the cage, means for shifting the trip devicesinto and out of the path of movement of the trip arms, and manuallyoperable means upon the platform of the cage for releasing the lockingmembers in dependently of the trip devices.

3. In combination with a hoisting cage and its platform, of guide meansmounted upon the platform to form keepers for the wheels of a miningcar, a rocking shaft pivoted to the platform of the cage, lockingmembers pivotally connected to the rocking shaft and movable above andbelow the guide means, trip arms carried by the shaft, trip mechanismoperative upon said trip arms, means for shifting the trip mechanisminto and out of the path of movement of the trip arms, and means uponthe platform for bringing the locking members to a released positionindependently of the trip mechanism.

4. In combination with a hoisting cage andits platform, of guide meansmounted upon the platform to form keepers for the wheels of a miningcar, automatic locking means carried by the platform for locking amining car upon the platform, trip mechanism for automatically releasingthe locking means upon the descent of the car, means for shifting thetripping mechanism from an operative to an inoperative position andmanually operable means upon the platform for releasing the lockingmeans independently of the tripping mechanism.

5. The combination with a hoisting cage and its platform, of automaticlocking means carried by the platform for locking a mining car upon thesame, trip arms cooperative with said locking means, a shifting bar,trip devices carried by said shifting bar and normally in the path ofmovement of the trip arms, means for shifting said shifting bar to movethe trip devices out of the path of movement of the trip arm to permitautomatic resetting of the locking means, and

manually operable means upon the platform for releasing the lockingmeans independently of the tripping devices.

In testimony whereof, I affiX my signature, in presence of twoWitnesses.

JOSEPH H. STROOPE. \Vitnesses:

W. S. WARREN, C. A. BRUNER.

